Method of packing fluid substances in cans



Dec. 19, 1950 J. FELBER 2,534,254

METHOD OF PACKING FLUID SUBSTANCES IN CANS Filed Oct. 24, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 SOURCE OF VACUUM mmvrox.

H TTOENEYS Dec. 19, 1950- J, FELBER 2,534,254

METHOD OF PACKING FLUID SUBSTANCES IN CANS Filed Oct. 24, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 INVENTOR Y Z a f/ q B g ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 19, 1950 METHOD OF, PACKING FLUID. SUB TANCES IN CANS John Felber, Hillside,.N. J assignor to American Can Company, New York, N. 36., a. corporation of New Jersey Application October 24, 1946, SerialNo: 705,419

3- Claims. 1

The present invention relates to a method of packing fluid substances incontainers or cans adapted, to be rotated while being closed and has particular reference to retaining the substance against surging in the cans.

In the hermetic closing or sealing of cans with a cover or end member, the coveris usually permanently secured in place by an interfolding of flanges on the cover and on the can body to produce the well known hermetic double seam. Under high speed rates of production the seaming operation can be performed more rapidly when the. can is rotated and the seaming head remains stationary than when the can remains stationary and the seaming head rotates.

However when the, product filled into a can prior to sealin is of a fluid nature, the rapid rotation of the can during the. seaming operation sets up a centrifugal. force which causes the product to surge in the can and come in contact with the cover. Where the product is viscous or tends to harden upon standing,,such as for example vegetable cooking compoundsor lard products, the surged product in contact with the cover cements the cover in place so that it is extremely difficult to. remove upon being released from the can by a can opener or by removal of. a tearing strip with a tearing strip type of can. Especially is this so of the reclosure type can or of a type of can in which the cover is hingedly connected to the can upon removal of a, tearing strip. Many vegetable compound and lard cans are made this Way today.

Thepresent invention contemplates overcoming this, difficulty while still allowing rotation of the can by a. method of preventing the surging of the. substance. or product. within the can and preventing, its. resultin clinging efiect. on the can cover.

An object of the. invention, is. the provision of a method of packing fluid, substances, in cans adapted to be rotated while being. closed wherein. the exposed surface of the. fluid substance filled into a can is rendered immovable under centrifugal force prior to sealing the can so that upon rotation, of the can during the closing operation the fluid substance will be retained against surging.

Another object is the. provision of such a method of packing fluid. substances in cans whereinv the exposed surface of the. substance. in the can is frozen prior to the can being closed so as to congeal or solidify the surface. of the substance against surging thus. preventing its coming into. contact with the cover. during rotation of-the can while being closed.

Another object is the provision of such a method of packing fluid substances in. cans wherein the headspace of'the filled cans above the solidified contents may be filled with an inert gas to eliminate the air from the canheadspace.

Another object is the provision of such a method of packing fluid substances in. cans wherein the cans may be filled and closed athigh speed rates of production and which results in efficiently sealed cans which may be readily opened by the consumer and wherein the prod ucti s contained fully within the can and is not stuck to the cover.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l' is a top plan sectional view of an apparatus for; carryin out the steps of the instant method invention, with parts broken away;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken through the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, with parts broken away; and

Fig; 3 is an enlarged sectional detail" of the apparatus.

Asa preferred embodiment of the invention the drawings disclose principal parts ofv apparatus for carrying. out the steps of a. method of seal ing a product such as a vegetable cooking compound in sheet metal cans. Such. a product as prepared for. packing, is in a semi-liquid viscous condition. While in this. condition it is filled into the cans. Following this filling operationaccording to the present invention the exposed surface. of the. semi-liquid compound is, chilled or frozen. This. congeals or solidifies the eX- posed surface of' the product and thus renders it immovable under centrifugal force.

The. headspace. of. the filled can. prior to seal.- ing. is usually filled with an inert gas, suchas nitrogen to eliminate. the air from the can.. This gassing. of the can is performed. preferably after. the freezing step although it may be preformed before this, step if desired. In some cases the assing. step. may be eliminated.

After. gassing, the filled can is sealed or closed by attaching an end member thereto. The sealing step isv efiected. preferably by rotating the can, as, hereinbefore mentioned. During this sealing step the congealed surface of the prodnot in. the: can. remains. immovable under the centrifugal force set up in. the can and thus the.

nozzles l2 for'dispensing the product into the cans. Cans A to be filled are supported on a table I3 and are propelled into position under the nozzles for filling in any suitable manner, as for example, by a rotating turret l4 (see also Fig. 1). The cans are directed in the desired path of travel by stationary guide rails I5 surrounding the turret.

After the filling operation the filled can is transferred to a freezing unit I! being wiped out of the turret pocket by a discharge guide bar 8. This unit H comprises an elongated housing I?! which encloses a freezing chamber 2|. The ends of the housing are closed with rotatable valves 22, 23 which operate in valve seats 24 formed in the housing. These valves are mounted on vertical shafts 25 which are journaled in bearings 25 formed in the housing.

Valve 22 is the can entrance valve and is formed with pockets 28 for receiving the filled cans A from the filling machine and for carrying them into the freezing chamber 2! as the valve rotates. The valve is rotated in its seat in any suitable manner in time with the filling machine as for example by a gear 29 mounted on the lower end of valve shaft 25.

Upon being introduced into the freezing chamber 2|, the filled can is ejected from its valve pocket 28. This is effected by an ejector finger M which is a usual part of such valves and which is pivotally mounted in the valve pocket. There is one of these fingers in each pocket and they are actuated in time with the rotation of the valve by a stationary cam 32 mounted on the housing l9. Such a valve and its parts is disclosed in some detail in United States Patent 2,039,338, issued May 5, 1936 to R. E. J. Nordquist et al. on Vacuum Closing Machine.

A filled can A introduced into the freezing chamber 2! is received on a table 34 having a continuously operating endless chain conveyor 35 which extends the full length of the chamber. A rotary star wheel 36 disposed adjacent the valve places the can onto the conveyor. This star wheel is rotated in time with the valve by way of a gear 31 which meshes with the gear 25!.

The conveyor 35 operates over a pair of spaced sprockets 33 carried on cross shafts 39 journaled in bearings formed in the housing I9. One of the shafts extends beyond the housing and carries a gear as for driving the conveyor. The conveyor is provided with spaced feed dogs 4| which engage behind the cans as they are received and propels them along the table. Guide rails d2 maintain the cans in line as they move along the table.

Adjacent the guide rails 42, the freezing chamber 2: is equipped with freezing units 43. These freezing units may be of any suitable variety. The drawings show a continuous pipe line for conveying a freezing medium such as brine or the like through the chamber. One end of the line leads from a suitable source of the medium while the opposite end leads back to the source or to a suitable place of discharge.

It is the passage of the filled can A through this freezing chamber 2| adjacent the freezing units 43 that chills or freezes the exposed surface of the product, as hereinbefore mentioned.

At the discharge end of the conveyor 35 in the freezing chamber 2 I, the chilled can is swept off the conveyor 35 by a star wheel 44 and is in-- troduced into a pocket 48 of the valve 23 disposed at this end of the housing I9. This valve is .a discharge valve and as it rotates it carries the received can out of the freezing chamber. The valve is rotated continuously by a gear fill mounted on the lower end of its shaft 25. The star wheel M is rotated in time with this valve by way of a gear which meshes with the gear 47. The valve carries discharge fingers 48 which are similar to the ejector fingers 3! in the entrance valve 22. These discharge fingers 48 are actuated in time with the rotation of the valve by a stationary cam 49 mounted on the housing I9 and which is similar to the entrance valve cam 32.

The discharge valve 23 of the freezing unit I? preferably transfers the chilled can to a gassing unit 5!. This unit preferably includes a valve 52 which continuously rotates in a seat formed in a cylindrical casing 53. The valve is rotated in any suitable manner in time with the valves of the freezing unit. The valve is formed with pockets 54 for receiving the chilled can and for carrying them through the casing.

A can in a pocket 54 of the gassing valve 52 first passes by and thus communicates with a vacuumizing recess 55 formed in the casing. This recess is maintained in a vacuumized condition by a pipe line 51 which leads to a suitable source of vacuum. As a can passes this recess, its headspace above the congealed exposed surface of the product in the can is vacuumized to eliminate the air therefrom.

Continued rotation of the valve carries the vacuumized can out of communication with the vacuumizing recess 56 and passes it adjacent a gassing recess 59 formed in the casing, alongside the vacuumizing recess. This gassing recess is maintained in a gas filled condition by a pipe line 6| which leads from a suitable supply of an inert gas and under a slight pressure. As the can passes this recess, its vacuumized headspace is filled with the gas.

Following this gassing operation the can is discharged from the valve 52. This discharge of the can is effected by a pusher finger 53 which is located in each valve pocket and is similar to the ejector finger 3| in the valve pocket of the entrance valve 22 of the freezing unit !8. Finger 63 is actuated in time with the rotation of the valve in a manner similar to actuation of the finger 3|, i. e., by a stationary cam 64 which is mounted above the gassing casing 53.

A chilled and gassed can A discharged from the gassing valve 52 is immediately picked up by a closing unit or machine 1 I. In this closing unit the can is received in a pocket 72 of a continuously rotating turret 13. This turret pocket also carries a can end member or cover B disposed in a recess formed in the turret just above the pocket. This cover is deposited in its recess (see Fig. 3) in any suitable manner from a supply of such covers disposed in the machine. The turret is mounted on a vertical shaft M journaled in bearings formed in the machine and is rotated in conventional manner in time with the other parts of the apparatus.

is retained in the pocket by a guide rail 11. The lifter pad is moved in time with the rotation of the turret in any suitable manner.

Hence as the chilled and gassed can moves through a curved path of travel with the turret 13, the lifter pad lifts the can into engagement with its superimposed. cover B and thus picks up the cover. A spring held knockout iii disposed above the cover holds it in place on the can. Continued upward travel of can and its cover brings the cover into engagement with a continuously rotating chuck 19. This engagement of the chuck with the cover rapidly rotates the can at high speed. The lifter pad holds the rotating can and its cover in this position against the chuck while the turret carries them past a pair of seaming rollers 8|, 82. These rollers preferably are first and second operation seaming rollers.

As the rotating can and cover pass these rollers, the rollers engage a flange part formed on the cover and interfolds it with a similar flange part on the can and thus permanently unites the cover with the can in the well known double seam hereinbefore mentioned. During this double seaming operation the congealed exposed surface of the chilled product prevents surging or the product and thus prevents the product from com-- ing into contact with the newly attached cover. Hence when the can is opened at the time its contents is to be used its cover may be readily removed without difficulty.

Upon completion of the seaming operation, the closed can is released from the rotating chuck 79 by a downward movement of the lifter pad 16. The lifter pad returns the closed can to its original position in the turret 13. This completes the steps of packing the can. The turret thereupon carries it into engagement with a stationary discharge rail 84 which discharges the closed can from the closing or seaming unit and directs it to any suitable place of deposit for shipment and storage.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from .the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the steps of the process described and their order of accomplishment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the process hereinbefore described being merely a, preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. The method of packing fluid substances in cans adapted to be rotated while being closed, comprising filling the can with its fluid contents, exposin the filled open can to a chilling temperature to congeal the exposed surface of the can contents and thereby hold the contents against surging under centrifugal force, and sealing a cover onto the filled can while rapidly rotating the can with its fluid contents so held.

The method of packing fluid substances in cans adapted to be rotated while being closed, comprising filling the can with its fluid contents, freezing the contents of the filled open can to congeal the exposed surface thereof and thereby hold the can contents against surging under centrifugal force, and sealing a cover onto the filled can While rapidly rotating the can with its fluid contents so held.

3. The method of packing fluid substances in cans adapted to be rotated while being closed, comprising filling the can with its fluid contents, passing the filled open can through a zone of freezing temperature to congeal the exposed surface of the can contents and thereby hold the contents immovable against surging under centrifugal force, vacuumizing the head space of the filled open can to exhaust air therefrom and replacing the exhausted air with gas, and sealing a cover onto the can so treated while rapidly rotating the can and cover with the congealed can contents so held against surging movement relative to the can.

JOHN FELBER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 698,701 Guenther Apr. 29, 1902 1,434,397 Mock Nov. '7, 1922 1,888,133 Kronquest Nov. 15, 1932 2,031,853 Potts Feb. 25, 1936 2,283,181 Cabot May 19, 1942 2,362,799 Boyd et al Nov. 14, 1944 

